Murder of Pregnant Wallen Prompts Bill That Would Allow Charges When Younger Fetuses Are Killed

Laura Wallen’s September 2017 murder drew national attention. Prosecutors charged Wallen’s boyfriend, Tyler Tessier, with murdering his pregnant girlfriend but were not able to charge him for killing her unborn fetus because it was 14 weeks old. Now, 17 months later, a new bill would allow murder charges for both the victim and the fetus.

Currently in Maryland, if a fetus cannot survive outside the womb, it cannot be murdered but Sen. Justin Ready, a Carroll County Republican, wants to change that. Ready held a news conference in Annapolis today to discuss a bill that would let Maryland follow 37 other states allowing for murder charges for younger fetuses. Mark Wallen, Laura’s father, spoke at the news conference about the bill that has been dubbed “Laura and Reid’s Law”.

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